Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Chicago was among the four cities picked as finalists Wednesday for the 2016 Summer Olympics, setting the stage for a high-profile bidding contest between candidates from the United States, Europe and Asia.

Also making the IOC shortlist were Madrid, Spain; Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Eliminated from the race were Doha, Qatar; Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.

The final field was selected by the International Olympic Committee executive board.

The big four -- Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio -- all had been virtually assured of advancing to the final stage. The main issue had been whether Doha also would make the cut.

The finalists now advance to a 16-month race that will culminate on Oct. 2, 2009, with a secret ballot by the full IOC at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

An IOC evaluation report assessing the technical merits of each bid ranked Tokyo with the top overall marks, followed closely by Madrid. Chicago and Doha were tied for third, with Rio fourth. Prague and Baku were sixth and seventh.